Chevrolet Numbers
There are no known, published numbers of any given year with any given engine or options by specific models. One can calculate the even distribution of any single option by taking the number of the specific option and applying that to the percentage of a specific model for a given year.
For example, the 1970 LS6 Chevelle engine option sales were 4,475
units. The V8 Malibu sport coupe (series 13637) production was
289,622 units. The total number of 1970 Chevelles built (excluding
the 13857 Monte Carlo) is 442,046. By calculating the percentage of
1970 Chevelles vs. the V8 Malibu sport coupe one gets about
85.82% of all 1970 Chevelles
(289,622 * 100 / 442,046). Multiply that
85.82% times the number of known LS6 options (4,475) and you
get 3,688 (rounded off) Malibu
sport coupes that could get the LS6 engine.
The same would apply to the V8 Malibu convertible series (13667).
Chevrolet sold 7,141 V8 Malibu convertibles in 1970 that accounts
for 2.12% of 1970 Chevelle sales. Multiply that 2.12% times the
number of LS6 engine options sold and one gets 95 LS6 convertibles.
Are the calculated even distribution of the LS6 engine option correct by the above calculations? No, just and even distribution based on sales numbers. The same procedure can be used to calculate the even distribution of any single option. When you try to add a second option, say the ZL2 hood, you are now calculating a number based on another calculated number; plus the ZL2 hood could be ordered with both the SS396 and SS454 option.
Here are all of the 1970 Chevelle data needed to calculate any even distribution you wish for these options.
| Sales Qty | Sold | % |
| V8 Chevelles Possible w/SS Option | 337,491 | 100 |
| V8 Malibu Sport Coupe | 289,622 | 85.82 |
| V8 Malibu Convertible | 7,141 | 02.12 |
| V8 Malibu El Camino | 40,728 | 12.07 |
| SS396 | 53,599 | 85.93 |
| SS454 | 8,773 | 14.07 |
| M20(1) | 28,131 | 31.57 |
| M21(2) | 11,830 | 13.27 |
| M22(3) | 5,410 | 06.07 |
| M40(4) | 43,748 | 49.09 |
| L78 engine | 2,144 | 04.00 |
| L34 engine | 51,455 | 96.00 |
| LS5 engine | 4,298 | 48.99 |
| LS6 engine | 4,475 | 51.01 |
| ZL2 Special Ducted Hood System | 28,888 | 100 |
Caveats - why trying to calculate an even distribution
with transmissions is unwise:
(1) The M20 could be ordered with any V8 engine except
the 454 engines SS optioned or not.
(2) The M21 was limited to the SS396 engines.
(3) The M22 was limited to the SS454 engines.
(4) The M40 could also be ordered with the LS3 engine.
